Food Hall Designed for Post-COVID Dining Coming to Tennessee

Roughly a year ago, nobody could have predicted that the growth and popularity of food halls could be stunted.

But amid shifting consumer tendencies toward contactless service and other COVID-driven changes, it’s now difficult to imagine that a bustling food hall may once again be consumers’ go-to dining choice.

The developers behind Marble City Market—a 15,000-square-foot food hall coming to Knoxville, Tennessee, this summer—think they just may have the answer.

The food hall, designed with a post-COVID dining scene in mind, is infusing elements including enhanced ventilation, integrated online ordering and contactless payment systems, according to a recent press release. It also will feature generous outdoor seating, with more than 500 seats across indoor and outdoor areas.

Eleven vendors are to grace the food hall, which will also include a 40-seat bar and two Topgolf Swing Suite simulators.

Marble City Market’s culinary offerings are being sought and selected by Hospitality HQ, a venture of chef Akhtar Nawab. Hospitality HQ also was behind Inner Rail Food Hall in Omaha, Nebraska (which opened October 2019) and Dr. Murphy’s Food Hall in Chicago’s Old Cook County Hospital (July 2020), as well as communal dining projects in Brooklyn (Alta Calidad), New Orleans (Otra Vez) and Washington, D.C (Prather’s on the Alley/Lucky Danger).